Writers: Art Cohn, Joseph Moncure March
Composer: Roy Webb (stock music)
Starring: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter, Wallace Ford, Percy Helton, Hal Baylor, Darryl Hickman, Kevin O'Morrison, James Edwards
More info: IMDb
Tagline: I Want a Man... Not a Human Punching Bag!
Plot: Because aging boxer Bill Thompson always lost his past fights, his corrupt manager, without telling Thompson, takes bribes from a betting gangster, to ensure Thompson's pre-arranged dive-loss in the next match.
My rating: 8.5/10
Will I watch it again? Yes!
This is one of the great ones. Robert Wise masterfully sucks you into the picture from start to finish. This picture moves so smoothly that it's over before you know. The flow of this flick is remarkable. The performances all around are top notch. Robert Ryan (as Stoker) is so sympathetic, it hurts and you really feel for Julie (Audrey Totter) in a way that's genuine. These actors aren't playing roles, they ARE their characters. Even the secondary and tertiary roles are solid and from a lot of familiar faces. The first thirty-five minutes sets the picture up. You get the big fight for the next twenty. Then it's the aftermath for the last fifteen. And that soft fade out. Nice. The Warner Bros. DVD has a commentary track with Wise & Martin Scorcese. For as many times as I've seen this, I can't believe I haven't listened to it yet. I should get on it.
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